“Over the years that I’ve worked with Heidi and Hafner Designs, she has transformed my web presence, its efficiency, look and effectiveness. She is timely, consistent and knowledgeable. Heidi is able to take my ideas, no matter how out of the box, an…

“Heidi created a logo for my new company including a header for my WordPress website. I had an idea of what I wanted it to include and she found a beautiful way to represent the parts of my business in a way that also reflected my fun and friendly …

“If you are looking for someone who will work with you as you plan and plan according to your design, Heidi is the person for you. I highly recommend her to anyone who is uncomfortable or even knowledgeable about web site design and hosting, her fr…

“Heidi is helping me redesign my web site and has developed numerous new ideas that I am excited about. I would recommend her to anyone interested in someone you can really talk to and who respects your opinions. She is not only talented but a cari…

“Heidi has and I believe will always be a great asset to us as she would be with any one who hires her. She has done very good work and is always willing to be of service. We recommend her greatly.” January 26, 2009 — Top qualities: Personable, High …

“Heidi Hafner provides excellent service, and she excels when it comes to considering the needs of her customers. She is talented and capable, and I find her to be a consummate professional in all that she does. I am pleased to recommend Heidi Hafn…

Clear Out Those Facebook Apps

How often do you go through the apps approved to access your Facebook account? I often access websites either from my computer or with my smartphone, sharing articles and pieces of information to my Facebook friends and followers. Often, I’m asked if the app can access my Facebook account and post for me. I give it permission thinking, it’s just to share this one article, picture, quote etc. Boom! The connection is made. These apps access our personal information. Some even post regularly for us. Once I’ve approved an app, I would rarely check my wall to see if or what that app is posting. I’ve had friends whose wall posts were questionable. When brought to their attention, they found they’d given an app permission to post on their wall, and for some reason, it was posting questionable material on their wall.

Did you know that these apps have to be maintained regularly to keep current? This means that when Facebook upgrades something, the app developers need to make sure their app is still compliant with Facebook and the website that app accesses. Many times, I’ve come across apps that malfunction and don’t produce what I expect from them, or they give me pop-up screens of ads that make me wonder if that app is allowing another, maybe non-compliant app, access to my Facebook account on its ‘coattails’.

I saw a picture post in my Facebook stream the other day. There is unknown, but it said,

“The only privacy notice about Facebook you’ll ever need to learn:

— If it’s private, don’t put it on Facebook

(Article 1, section 1, statutes of common sense on Internet usage)”

This holds true with the apps that we approve as well.

I go through my apps regularly now. I remove any that have not been used within a two-week to one month period of time. If it hasn’t been used, it doesn’t need to be there. I know, it’s a pain-in-the-butt to have to go through the process of giving permission to access your Facebook account, but I’d much rather be certain that my privacy is maintained to the best of my ability.

Isn’t it time to check your apps? Once logged into Facebook, go over to your settings (the padlock on the right at the top of your screen) click on “See more Settings,” and then on the left, click on Apps. On the page that loads next, you’ll be given a list of all the apps that you have approved whether you knew it or not. Go through each one and either edit or remove. You’ll feel better knowing which apps you truly do approve of accessing your account.